Whatever happened with "Drifting Dan?"

[drbill]

Dave, I saw that on OC Diving News but didn't re-read it here. If I remember correctly there was mention of only seven divers on board? If correct, that seems to be a very manageable number of divers to do a proper roll call. Of course I agree with Capt. Ray that it is not the captain's responsibility to conduct the roll call.

 

[Teamcasa]

Of course I agree with Capt. Ray that it is not the captain's responsibility to conduct the roll call.

I agree as well but the Capt. had better really, really trust the person charged with the roll call responsibility or they will likely end up in court just like Ray.

 

[Rainer]

Ultimate responsibility falls upon the captain. It's his boat, he's in charge. If someone gets left, the buck has to stop with the captain. At a minimum, he needed to hire people he could trust to do a better job with the roll call. He failed in his duty to either verify the count himself or to secure personnel competent to have done the task correctly.

Of course I agree with Capt. Ray that it is not the captain's responsibility to conduct the roll call.

 

[merxlin]

Ultimate responsibility falls upon the captain. It's his boat, he's in charge. If someone gets left, the buck has to stop with the captain. At a minimum, he needed to hire people he could trust to do a better job with the roll call. He failed in his duty to either verify the count himself or to secure personnel competent to have done the task correctly.

The difference in this case I believe (and only my opinion) is that the dive op that chartered the boat provided the DM's, and as such they were not employees of the boat. They did just hire the captain to drive the boat. The DM's and dive Op personnel were checking in and out the divers. There is no way on a live drop/pick up like at the oil rigs for the captain to do also do the check out/check in.

 

[Rainer]

Sorry, that doesn't cut it. The captain should know how many people boarded his boat at the dock and how many people are on board before he decides to head to a different site. Only he drove the boat away leaving a diver behind. His boat, he's in charge, his responsibility to ensure no one is left.

The difference in this case I believe (and only my opinion) is that the dive op that chartered the boat provided the DM's, and as such they were not employees of the boat. They did just hire the captain to drive the boat. The DM's and dive Op personnel were checking in and out the divers. There is no way on a live drop/pick up like at the oil rigs for the captain to do also do the check out/check in.

 

[Scott L]

Dave, I saw that on OC Diving News but didn't re-read it here. If I remember correctly there was mention of only seven divers on board? If correct, that seems to be a very manageable number of divers to do a proper roll call. Of course I agree with Capt. Ray that it is not the captain's responsibility to conduct the roll call.

I respectfully disagree. It may not be the captain's task but it is cetainly the captain's responsibility...

 

[mikemill]

This seems relevant:
You can delegate authority but you can't delegate responsibility.

 

[drbill]

Not irrelevant in the least. If the dive op that charters the boat provides their own DMs to cover the dive safety related functions, then I fail to see how the captain takes responsibility for a diver missed by the chartering entity's mistake. Ultimately the captain has accountability for the safety of the divers with respect to the boat's operation, and would have responsibility for the DM's conduct IF the DM were a member of the captain's crew. In this situation this apparently was NOT the case. If the DM failed to do an accurate account and did not notify the captain about the missing diver, the captain should have no direct responsibility for that aspect of the operation. The DM and the chartering entity should assume that responsibility.

Rainer and Valhalla, I think you are both off base in this case. Under a situation where the DM was part of the crew, I'd agree with you. However, that was not the case here. The chartering entity provided the DM and should be responsible. The DM was responsible for notifying the captain of any missing divers and failed to do so. It is my opinion that a DM who cannot accurately account for what was apparently a total of seven divers was not doing his or her job. I have worked on boats where the DMs were able to effectively deal with far more divers (over four times that number) because they required a visual check (and actually took the time to learn the faces and even the names of the divers on board).

Of course this is simply my opinion and I am not a lawyer... but that's why I see things clearly, rather than trying to obfuscate the issues. I have no personal ties with this and do not even remember what dive entity and DM was involved so I am not biased by knowledge of them.

 

[Oside Jimc]

Only he drove the boat away leaving a diver behind. His boat, he's in charge, his responsibility to ensure no one is left.

Maritime law generally holds the Captain responsible for all aspects of the operation of a vessel, he can be asleep in his bunk when the vessel runs aground (for instance) and it is ultimately his responsibility. Of course personal responsibility plays role here too, Drift'n Dan doesn't deserve a dime IMO, even if he had been noticed missing at the first roll call, in the fog, there is no guarantee that the boat could have found him quickly after his inept dive execution, 400' might as well be a mile.

 

[Rainer]

I don't think he deserves a dime for the "skin cancer" claim, but he does deserve a pay day for getting left behind. If he'd only been lost at the first dive site, that could perhaps be chalked up to poor conditions (which if they were really so bad, the captain has a responsibility for finding a new site, but i digress) or his own ineptitude, but the fact is, he was not *lost* due to poor conditions, but *left* due to a failed roll call. As you note, ultimate responsibility lies with the captain.

Maritime law generally holds the Captain responsible for all aspects of the operation of a vessel, he can be asleep in his bunk when the vessel runs aground (for instance) and it is ultimately his responsibility. Of course personal responsibility plays role here too, Drift'n Dan doesn't deserve a dime IMO, even if he had been noticed missing at the first roll call, in the fog, there is no guarantee that the boat could have found him quickly after his inept dive execution, 400' might as well be a mile.